“We don’t stop ... because we are led by fools ... we continue ... that’s what we do!”
Those are the words of singer and arts activist Sibongile Mngoma, filming a short clip of herself and a group of young SA choristers when they were back in the rehearsal room this week. Some context: Mngoma had spent the previous three nights sleeping on a Pretoria pavement outside the department of sports, arts & culture building. Private security guards and police officers were present, but minister Nathi Mthethwa and colleagues were not — a suitable summary of the state’s attitude towards artists in SA.
Mngoma is, of course, an experienced protester; she led Abahlali Base NAC’s 60-day sit-in at the National Arts Council earlier in 2021 and is one of the figures prominently associated with criticism of the government’s ineptitude when it comes to arts funding and administration. Many others in the sector have taken up the fight, building new organisations such as the Sustaining Theatre and Dance (Stand) Foundation and the Theatre and Dance Alliance (Tada).
As South Africans prepare to go to the polls in the municipal elections, the obvious thing to say is that those who care about the arts should use their ballots to bolster such democratic activities — for democracy in practice entails a combination of civic action and exercising the right to vote. But it is hard to do the latter with any enthusiasm, given the paltry offerings that our political parties (major and minor) present. Sadly, narrowing the criteria down to arts-specific aspects of their manifestos doesn’t help matters.
0 of 3
Stand tried this at a summit in September, creating a platform for party representatives to tackle the question, “Why Should Artists Vote For You?” Similar dialogues have been held at smaller events since. The fact of the matter is that no SA political party has a half-decent answer to give. The governing party is hopeless. And the rest of them are variously populist, fraudulent, conservative, xenophobic, homophobic, crass regarding race or intellectually barren. There is not an artistic spark among them. Perhaps independent candidates in a handful of wards buck this trend; I wish their voices were louder.
Those in the creative sector will vote out of a sense of civic duty — and will probably not vote for the ANC — but can nonetheless expect that we will still be led by fools. As Mngoma points out, the only option under these circumstances is, “Don’t stop!" Keep on making, keep on hustling, keep on inventing, keep on buying, keep on selling, keep on exchanging, keep on building, and where necessary keep on breaking.
This is a much easier credo to enact for those in the industry who are well-resourced. Nonetheless, arts enthusiasts, consumers and aficionados who want to direct their time and energy (and money) to activities beyond the realm of party politics this election season have many opportunities to do so.
In Johannesburg, for instance, FNB Art Joburg Open City (October 28-31) offers a long weekend of gallery events, pop-up exhibitions and open studios. This is a great opportunity to talk with artists and gallerists, and to find out more about the work on display than a cursory visit usually allows. Call it solidarity, call it schmoozing, you won’t regret it.
Before and after voting, you can also brush up on 20th century and contemporary SA art in anticipation of Johannesburg Auction Week, which will include a series of live auctions on November 7 and 8. Big spenders can expect to pay a few million rand to secure iconic works by JH Pierneef, Alexis Preller, Sydney Kumalo or William Kentridge. A few hundred thousand will get you a Tretchikoff, a George Pemba, a Robert Hodgins or a Gerard Sekoto.
For the rest of us, there is the more modest pleasure of viewing these paintings and sculptures on display at Strauss & Co’s exhibition space (89 Central Street, Houghton). The auctioneers’ catalogues and videos are a useful primer for aspects of SA art history — and with it, the history of representation, from black and white perspectives, of our complicated country. There are worse places a voter could look for guidance.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.